


You're my rock

by PocketMouse7



Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: Alex Mercer Needs a Hug (Julie and The Phantoms), Coming Out, Found Family, Hurt/Comfort, Its set in the 90's thats why its alex/Luke, M/M, Period-Typical Homophobia, Sunset Curve (Julie and The Phantoms), The Boys Are Himbos, im bad at tagging sorry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-05
Updated: 2021-01-05
Packaged: 2021-03-15 21:07:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,567
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28570506
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PocketMouse7/pseuds/PocketMouse7
Summary: “I’m gay” Alex had prepared for this. He’d prepared for acceptance, and love, the unconditional love that his parents had promised him. He’d prepared for that even with the knowledge it was probably wishful thinking. He’d also prepared for violent rejection, to be kicked out and forgotten - he’d even packed a backpack to be able to leave quickly. He’d thought of every possibility, some might say he was an overthinker, but in situations like this he didn’t want to make any stupid mistakes.In which coming out doesn't go how Alex had hoped, but his boys are there for him to fall back on.
Relationships: Alex Mercer/Luke Patterson (Julie and The Phantoms), Bobby | Trevor Wilson & Alex Mercer & Luke Patterson & Reggie Peters
Comments: 6
Kudos: 101





	You're my rock

**Author's Note:**

> Tw for period typical homophobia and broken glass. (That's sorta a spoiler but hey ho)
> 
> I wrote this instead of working and its fresh out of the google docs oven so enjoy!

“I’m gay” Alex had prepared for this. He’d prepared for acceptance, and love, the unconditional love that his parents had promised him. He’d prepared for that even with the knowledge it was probably wishful thinking. He’d also prepared for violent rejection, to be kicked out and forgotten - he’d even packed a backpack to be able to leave quickly. He’d thought of every possibility, some might say he was an overthinker, but in situations like this he didn’t want to make any stupid mistakes.

What he hadn’t prepared for, however, was silence. 

He hadn't expected it to be so loud. 

He hadn’t expected the not-so-subtle glances at each other, almost blaming, or maybe guilty. He hadn't expected the fear. 

His mother took a deep breath, sounding like her lungs had collapsed under the weight of the seemingly simple statement. Rage seemed to be building in his fathers eyes, as he opened his mouth to say something that was lost in his throat. 

His mother choked out a quiet “no”, and it sounded so different from his mother, you’d think she’d been possessed by the ghost of a mouse. Where there seemed to be anger and disappointment on his fathers face, in hers she could only find fear. 

The tears started welling up in Alex’s eyes, he could handle violent rejections, going to cry into his boys arms with Reggie holding him tightly while Luke and Bobby loudly discussed the different ways they would murder his parents. What he couldn't handle was the knowing that, technically, nothing would change but, in reality, everything that made them love him was cast aside. He couldn't look his parents in the eyes, so he cast them down, watching the floorboards start to swim beneath his feet. 

“Boys don’t cry” his fathers voice swam in his head, you’d think it was the family motto with how much it was tossed around the Mercer house and, although Alex wasn’t sure he wanted to be a Mercer anymore, the words were so branded onto his brain that he felt a pang of guilt when he saw a tear splash to the ground. 

He thought about baking french patisseries with his mother, the way she smiled and sang along to whatever was on the radio, the way she gently scolded him for adding too much milk and held his hand to help him sieve in a little more flour. He thought about family board games night, every Thursday, when the Mercer’s all gathered at the dining table and played board games, and laughed at his little sisters consistently rolling dice off of the table, and groaning at his dad’s bad jokes. He didn’t think they would be the same now, not with the spark in his mother’s eyes gone, and his fathers clenching and unclenching fists. 

“I think you should go to your room, Alexander” Alex’s mother said curtly, “Your father and I have something to discuss”

His father followed him up the stairs, from a distance, making sure he made it to his room and didn’t eavesdrop. He, of course, was going to eavesdrop anyway, but gave his father the courtesy of going into his room. He heard a gentle click from his door, and when he tried the handle, it was locked. Okay, he thought, don’t panic. They just want privacy. He willed himself not to hyperventilate, not to cry, not to clench up and panic and get sweaty hands and dizzy, and pushed his ear up against the door, so he could hear the faint conversation from downstairs. 

“This is because you let him go to dance class” His mother’s usually melodic voice drifted up the stairs, sounding way too harsh. 

“Don’t be ridiculous. This is that band you let him join. Drumming was fine, but those boys have turned him… like this. They broke him, we should have been more suspicious of that… Lucas” his father said, avoiding the word “gay” as if they said it too many times it would infect them like a disease. 

“Don’t blame me for his friends. Look, we’ll ground him, and make sure he doesn’t talk to those boys again. Call his teachers to move him in class, make sure he stays at home after school and on weekends. And we can sign him up for a… healthier activity. Soccer, or baseball. We’ll fix him.” 

Take away his boys? He’d tried to give them the benefit of the doubt, but he couldn’t survive without his boys. And he had an aching feeling that “making sure he stayed home” was code for locking him in his room. “Fix him” lingered in his head and sent shivers down his spine, and called out memories of finding out about conversion camps and - he couldn’t do that. He desperately tried to think of something else.

Luckily, he’d prepared to leave tonight, so he grabbed his fully prepared backpack and went over to his bedroom window, scouting out a route from it to the ground. He reached up to grab the key to his window and-

“Fuck” 

Good forward thinking, Alex. Well done on the whole overthinking-the-wrong-thing-and-forgetting-to-steal-back-his-sisters-window-key-after-she-lost-hers. Nice one. He sat on his bed, before laying down uncomfortably on top of the backpack. He desperately raked his mind for ideas, but came up short, sighing gently and cursing his own stupidity. 

Tap. Tap tap. 

Alex looked up sharply, and turned his head towards the source of the tapping, only to see none other than Luke, his boyfriend, tapping frantically on his bedroom window. Alex jumped up immediately, checking quickly over his shoulder out of instinct - Bobby would call it paranoia - for his parents. 

“Luke? Why are you here?”  
“Dude, you haven't missed practice in 3 years, what's going on?”   
“Shit, that's tonight.” Alex once again cursed himself for overthinking the wrong things.  
“Lexi tell me what's going on.”  
“I-” Alex’s voice cracked a little and he turned his eyes to the ground again “I came out. I told them. They don't want me to see you again.” He cast his eyes back over his shoulder at the door, paranoid.  
“Screw that, we’re commencing operation Break Alex Out of His House” someone else shouted from outside his window, and Alex looked down out of his window to see Reggie and Bobby holding up a ladder that Luke was perched precariously on, Reggie not so much holding as he cupped his hands around his mouth to shout to Alex. Bobby gave him a quick slap on the arm to remind him that Luke was literally going to fall if he didn’t stabilize this ladder.   
“Where did you get that- okay. Look, I don’t know how to get out, my dad locked the door to my room and I don’t have a window key.”   
“Okay, step back.”  
“Luke I swear, if you throw a rock at my window I’ll kill you”  
“Dude do you want to be locked in your room forever and never see us again, or do you want me to throw a rock at your window.”  
“You're going to be arrested for property damage”  
“Bobby pass me a rock”  
“I feel like there’s another way to-”  
“That’s fucking tiny Bobbers a bigger one”  
“Lucas, please, for the love of-”  
“Do you have double glazing”  
“I don’t think so I-”  
“It needs to be sharp, Luke, i've got a screwdriver you can hit with a rock, that'll break it” Reggie called up  
“Physics genius Reggie” He called back “Step back, Lexi”

Alex complied - protesting but not being willing to get hit by a rock - as Luke whacked a rock against Reggie’s screwdriver and the window shattered. Suddenly, Alex was in fight or flight, and ignored the pain of climbing through a broken window - thanks Luke - in his panic to get outside before his parents caught up to him, it was inevitable that they would catch on with the noise. He slid down the ladder, like a cartoon, he thought absentmindedly, and ran as fast as he could to the van, his boys in tow. Reggie hopped in the driver's seat (he did not have his license yet and Alex made a mental note to scold him later, but for now they just needed to leave fast), while the other 3 went to the back, and they were gone. 

Bobby, forever the only member of Sunset Curve with a brain cell, pulled out the first aid kit they kept in the van and started dressing the cuts Alex had gained from climbing through a broken window - thanks Luke - while Alex sat, completely shell-shocked and completely still, until his boyfriend started rubbing his back in a way that they both knew Luke had learned for Alex’s panic attacks. 

Alex rested his head on Luke’s shoulder, squeezing his eyes tight to try and stop the flow of tears. He allowed himself to be pulled up and led to the studio behind Bobby’s house, the whole band's safe space. He sat down on the sofa, and Reggie was immediately by his side, hugging him tightly in a way that let Alex know he wasn’t going to be released in a long time. He leaned into the hug, thankful for the contact he so desperately needed, and listened as Bobby breathed out sharply.

“I am going to murder your parents Lex”

He wasn’t prepared. But at least he had his beautiful, predictable boys to fall back on.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Please leave a kudos and comment if you enjoyed :)
> 
> I post mostly on tumblr so check me out here https://www.tumblr.com/blog/view/arsonanddahlias
> 
> Have a nice day <3


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